Kendra Stone Meets the Sons of Thunder: Volume 1
by guardianM3
Summary: Kendra Stone is accused of a viscous murder and she hires the team at Thunder Investigations to help her to prove her innocence.  As more murders occur, the evidence starts to point at Trent and Carlos as the murderers.
1. Chapter 1: The New Waitress

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fanfiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

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guardianM3: I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 1: The New Waitress

Trent Malloy walked into the friendly atmosphere of the Uppercuts bar. When he had finished his paperwork for Thunder Investigations, his stomach had growled hungrily at him, reminding him that he had skipped lunch. He hadn't had a chance to eat because the Birch case had kept him busy for a better part of the morning and afternoon. Then, he had to deal with all of the paperwork that had started to form a mountain range on his desk.

So, as soon as the last file had been put away, he walked downstairs to get something to eat and drink. He greeted Butch with a wave as he went and sat down at a table that wasn't very far from the bar.

Just as Trent sat down, a waitress had somehow sneaked up on him and stood by his table. When he saw her, he gave her a warm smile.

The waitress nodded her head in greeting and pulled a pencil from the tie that held her dark hair in a ponytail as she simultaneously pulled a pad from the pouch in the apron around her waist. "What can I get you?"

His blue eyes met hers. Concealed behind the tranquility of her light blue eyes was a brightly burning, blue fire. He was mesmerized by the fire but snapped out of his daze when she asked, "Are you alright?"

He nodded and cleared his throat. "I'll have the buffalo chicken and a beer." She wrote down his order. Then, with a raised eyebrow that showed she still questioned if he was okay, she went to get his order.

He shook his head trying to clear the smoke in his mind. The smoke became a distant haze as his friend Carlos Sandoval came to the table.

"Hey, Trent. Finished all of your paperwork?" Carlos asked as he sat down across from him. He flashed Trent a grin.

"Yeah, about five minutes ago. What about your paperwork?"

Carlos coughed. "I see Butch has a new waitress." Carlos was trying to change the subject and Trent knew why.

"You had Kim help you out again, didn't you?"

The look in Carlos's dark eyes confirmed Trent's suspicions. Carlos ran a hand through his dark hair. "She's pretty," he said, still attempting to get Trent off the subject.

Trent's gaze shifted to the waitress as she stood next to the bar chatting with the owner and bartender of Uppercuts, Butch McMann.

"Maybe I should ask her out."

Trent looked at him, his eyebrows arched, feigning surprise. "Oh, really. Isn't she a little too old for you. She is about our age not 19 or 20."

"Ha. Ha. I don't just date 19 or 20 year olds."

"Alright, I'm sorry. You sometimes date 18-year-old girls." Trent's face was impassive, but his eyes were laughing. Before Carlos could send a remark back at Trent, the waitress arrived with Trent's order. She also had chicken wings, fries and beer for Carlos.

"I guess Butch knows what you like." She gave Carlos a wink and went to make her rounds to her other tables.

"Yeah and I wonder what she likes," Carlos said, taking a sip of his beer.

Suddenly, a loud, slapping noise bounced off the walls of the bar, followed by obnoxious laughter. One of the patrons had smacked the new waitress's behind.

Trent and Carlos had jumped to their feet but remained where they were. They could see that beneath the table, the waitress's foot was being firmly pressed on top of the man's own. The man was writhing, trying to move his foot. Pain was etched onto his face and raw anger shone in his eyes. They could not hear what she said to the man because her voice had become low as she spoke into the man's ear. Then she removed her foot and glared raucously at the man's three buddies that had joined in with his laughter and left the table.

"She's certainly interesting," remarked Carlos. Trent didn't say a word as he watched her walk past him and to the bar.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Butch asked as he flung a towel over his left shoulder.

"I'm fine." Kendra could not get rid of the look of disgust on her face or the anger that still flashed in her eyes.

"Do you want me to throw those guys out of the bar for you? I might beat my own throwing distance record."

"You can if they don't pay their bill and get out like I told them too." The anger in her eyes began to dissipate. You're not going to fire me?"

"What? This is a bar, Kendra; fights are as common as pennies." A small smile came to Kendra's lips. "But, of course, no one and I mean no one disrespects any of my employees," Butch said firmly grabbing the towel off his shoulder and started drying a glass.

After the rowdy patron and his buddies had left the bar, the ambiance had returned to normal. Then, after the last customer had left and Kendra had wiped down the tables and mopped the floor, she said goodnight to Butch and went out the door

Looking at her ten-dollar watch that read 1:30AM, she sighed. She wasn't really bothered by the late hour, but it would take a few days for her body to get used to the late shift.

Kendra's thoughts turned to the blond-haired man who had been watching her for most of the night. She had not gotten any creepy, pervert vibes from him but…

She stopped in dead in her tracks as she came to face a seven-foot high brick wall. She had become so lost in her thoughts that it had caused her to turn accidentally at the wrong moment and into a blind alley. "Darn it." She mumbled turning around and hadn't even taken a step as she stared at the men who had snuck up on her.

The man who had slapped Kendra's behind, along with his three buddies, stood in a line, blocking the entrance to the alley and her only way out.

Kendra's muscles tensed as her eyes took in the situation. She knew that they were a little intoxicated since she had been the one who had served them beer. Yet, the men didn't stagger as they walked steadily closer.

"Why, hello there, Kendra." The man who had slapped her said her name with venom. "We didn't expect to find you here."

"I didn't expect that you four, lousy, loathsome, repulsive drunks were going to be here either or else I would have gone a different route."

The man's face reddened in anger. "Get her!" he growled to the other men.

Kendra gave her mind a mental slap at being a fool for insulting four late twenty-something, intoxicated men just as the red-haired man of the group roughly grabbed her arm. Kendra swung her free arm back and slammed her fist into his freckled nose. He released her and stumbled backwards, his hands flying to his broken nose.

"Brian!" screamed another man, taking in the blood that dripped through his friend's fingers. His eyes flashed with anger as he lunged at her. She kicked him in the groin and threw her right fist into the third man's jaw.

Brian dropped his bloody hands from his face. He and the man, who had slapped her in the bar, double-teamed her. She stepped out of the way or ducked as their fists flew at her. She got in a few decent punches of her own and was able to knock them down.

As Kendra brushed off her hands, smiling triumphantly, something hard smashed into the right side of her face. Her fiery, blue eyes closed before she fell to the ground.

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guardianM3: I hope you guys liked the first chapter of my SOT fanfic. For those of you who don't know, there is a story preceding this one under the TV show "Walker, Texas Ranger" entitled "Introducing Kendra Stone". The story tells how Kendra met the Rangers, except she hadn't met Trent and Carlos. You don't have to read that story but later on the Rangers are going to appear, (not in this story/volume). Keep on reading and reviewing!


	2. Chapter 2: Murder

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

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Chapter 2: Murder

Kendra felt as though marbles were being rolled around in her head and bouncing off her skull. She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn't open. She didn't feel the hands closing around her arms but she did feel herself being pulled from the ground onto her feet as the marbles turned to stars behind her eyelids. Strong, rough hands kept her from falling back to the ground.

"You stupid, witch!" A sinister voice screamed into her ear, the words bouncing painfully around in her head.

Kendra slowly opened her eyes but could only squint to see who had spoken. She recognized the voice's owner as the man who had slapped her in the bar. The memory of the fight just moments before caused her eyes to shut again as pain shot through her head.

"I think she's been hurt enough, Sam. She can barely stand," said one of the men holding her, to the owner of the voice.

"Shut up, Tony! I get to say when she's had enough," Sam shouted. He stomped on Kendra's foot and she screamed in pain. A dark, evil smile came to Sam's lips. "How did you like that?"

"How do you like this?" said a voice, before Sam was kicked in the head causing him to slam into the wall.

The two men that held Kendra released her and she fell to the ground. As she laid there, eyes closed, she listened to the sounds of blows landing, grunts, groans and bodies falling to the ground.

Footsteps came toward her after the other sounds had ceased and she felt someone kneel next her.

"Are you alright?" A calm and gentle voice asked that sounded familiar to Kendra.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the man whose blue eyes had stared profoundly into hers as she had taken his order in the bar.

* * *

Trent kept his eyes on the waitress who had introduced herself as Kendra Stone. A blanket hung off of her shoulders as she sat in the open doors of the ambulance. A large black and purple bruise had formed on the left side of her forehead. She had allowed the EMT to check her out but had refused to be taken to the hospital. Trent and the EMT had tried to talk her into going but she wouldn't change her mind.

Carlos was talking to a uniformed officer that he had known when he was a detective with the Dallas P.D. Once they had finished talking, they walked up to Kendra and Trent.

"Hello, Ms. Stone, I'm Officer Reed. How are you feeling?" He asked, his eyes were filled with concern but were also alert. He had his pen ready to take down notes in the brown leather bound little notebook he had in his hands.

"Good morning, Officer Reed. I'm fine." The last two words had been spoken with a harsh warning.

"So, you and those men had an altercation at Uppercuts earlier tonight?" asked Officer Reed.

"The altercation happened between me and the one named Sam."

Officer Reed checked his notes. "His name is Cutler, Sam Cutler." Kendra gave him a look that said she didn't give a damn what his name was.

Officer Reed cleared his throat. "Carlos here told me that Cutler had slapped your behind and you had spoken to him. What did you say?"

"I called him a weasel and an ass. I told him that if he or any of his buddies ever did anything like that again, to me or to any of the other waitresses at the bar that he was going to end up broken and bloody in the hospital. Then I told him to pay the check and get the hell out of the bar taking his hyena-laughing buddies with him."

Carlos had an amused grin on his face, but was still a little shocked. Officer Reed and Trent had raised their eyebrows in surprise.

Officer Reed wrote something down on his pad and looked at her. "What happened after that?"

Kendra sighed. "They left. A couple of hours after the bar closed, and I spent about thirty minutes cleaning up. Said goodnight to my boss and went out the door. I was heading toward my apartment, when they showed up."

"How did you end up in a blind alley?" Carlos asked.

"I turned at the wrong time. I'm new to the area." Kendra brushed aside that comment with a wave her hand and continued telling Officer Reed what had occurred. "Carlos called an ambulance and Trent asked if I was okay," she finished, taking a deep breath.

"Alright." Reed said as he stopped his furious note taking. "That's all for now, Ms. Stone. I'll call you if I have any more questions." He looked pointedly at Trent and Carlos. "You can take her home now."

"You can take her home, Trent. I still have a few more things to do," said Carlos.

"That's fine with me." Trent replied, giving Kendra a look that told her not to even try to protest.

* * *

Trent drove his blue Stingray Corvette in silence. He stopped at the address Kendra had given him and turned to look at her.

"Thanks for the ride," she told him, reaching for the handle of the door. Trent gently grabbed her arm. She stopped, turned to face him and he removed his hand.

"Here, take my card." He handed her the card. She looked at the card and saw the words 'Thunder Investigations'. "My cell phone number is on the back. Call me if you need anything," Trent said with a kind smile.

Kendra opened her door and stepped out of the car before Trent could get out and help her. She bent down, smiling at him and looked directly into his eyes. "Thank you for saving me, Thunder Boy. I owe you and Carlos one." Then she turned and walked, limping slightly, to the stairs that lead to an upstairs apartment.

He watched her as she unlocked the door, went in and then shut the door behind her. He started his car and drove away into the predawn light.

* * *

Danny Fisher finished stretching out his muscles and warming up in front of his house and began his daily 6 A.M. jog. He ran past old Mrs. Fletcher's house that desperately needed repairs and the Songs' beautifully landscaped lawn and flowerbeds that trailed up the path to their front stoop.

Danny's wife was trying to get him to hire the Songs' landscape architect but he kept on insisting that they could do the work themselves. Danny's thoughts wandered as he was pricing materials, his body automatically heading to the little park just a few blocks from his house.

He came to an abrupt halt when he noticed a black wallet about ten feet ahead of him. He bent down to pick it up but didn't have a chance to open it before something else caught his eye. A hand was poking out from a line of bushes.

He walked closer, cautiously, his eyes never leaving the hand. Danny stopped when his green eyes met with blank blue eyes. He took a step back when he saw that the man was covered in blood.

Dropping the wallet, he turned and ran faster than he had ever done before in his entire life or probably ever would again.

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guardianM3: You'll have to find out in Chapter 3 who has been killed. Reviews are always welcome.


	3. Chapter 3: The Suspects

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

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Chapter 3: The Suspects

"Your new waitress, Kendra, was attacked last night by that guy who had slapped her and his laughing buddies." Said Trent his eyes bloodshot from the very little sleep he had gotten.

Bang! Butch had slammed the glass he had been holding onto the bar.

"I'm surprised that you didn't break the glass, Butch," said Carlos, setting his mug of coffee down onto the bar.

Butch didn't acknowledge his friend's comment. "Is she alright?" He asked.

"She's okay. She has a good sized lump on her head and she's limping a little." Trent answered.

"What about those rotten, sons of guns?" Butch asked, anger resonating in his voice.

"They were released about half an hour after they had been taken to the station," Carlos said, with anger and disgust in his voice. "One of them had a hotshot lawyer that had gotten them off on bail." Carlos quickly explained when he had seen Butch's scowl.

Kendra walked into the bar and stood next to Carlos, who was sitting closest to the door. "Good morning." She greeted as cheerfully as she could muster.

"What are you doing here?" Butch asked sternly.

Kendra was about answer but Butch continued. "You should be at home, resting," scolded Butch.

"I'm fine, boss," Kendra replied, defensively. "I'm taking Katelyn's shift." She had promised to take Katelyn's shift because she had some family business or something that she had to take care of.

"You don't look fine to me. It looks as though there is a grapefruit growing out of your forehead." Butch replied. "Plus, I saw you limping. So, you are going to either sit down without a complaint or an argument or I will carry you out of here and bring you home." Butch said firmly and with a look that said he meant it.

Kendra mumbled underneath her breath, sat down on a stool at the bar next to Trent, and ordered a cup of coffee, black. Butch placed the steaming coffee in front of her. She took a sip glancing at Trent and Carlos who had worried looks on their faces.

"I'm fine," she repeated. She must have had seen something in one of their faces as she asked, "What's wrong?"

Carlos ran a hand through his black hair. "Uh, the scumbags from last night were released on bail after only a half hour at the station. They had a hotshot lawyer that had probably pulled some strings or called in a favor or two to make it happen."

"That's great. I don't know how my day can get any worse," said Kendra, sarcastically. She spoke too soon.

* * *

Detective Ryan of the Dallas P.D. stepped into Uppercuts. When he saw Trent and Carlos at the bar, a sneer came to his lips.

"McMann, do you know where your waitress, Kendra Stone is?" Detective Ryan asked, the sneer had been replaced with a firm line.

"I'm right here," said Kendra, not even bothering to stand. "What do you want?"

"You need to come to the station with me." He commanded.

"What do you want with her, Ryan?" asked Carlos, a challenge in his eyes.

"Actually, now that I've thought about it, you and Malloy need to come to the station as well." Detective Ryan said with eagerness in his eyes.

"I think that before we go that you need to tell us why we need to go to the police station." Kendra stood up and crossed her arms.

Detective Ryan gave an exasperated sigh. "Sam Cutler was found murdered this morning."

* * *

Trent, Carlos and Kendra had arrived at the police station in Carlos' Dodge Durango. Detective Ryan ordered Trent and Carlos to not get nosy as he took Kendra into the interrogation room first.

The interrogation room was painted a slate gray. Its meager furniture was a metal table and four folding chairs. A camera with its red blinking was in one corner of the room and on one wall was a window with one-way glass.

Kendra was sitting on one of the old and rusty folding chairs. Detective Ryan was standing on the other side of the table. He had already taken down her information on a tape recorder and placed it, still running, on the table.

"Sam Cutler was murdered this morning." Stated Detective Ryan, his eyes studied her face for a look of guilt.

"You mentioned that at the bar." She pointed out.

Ryan ignored her comment and continued. "Cutler had been viscously stabbed in a park near his house. Cutler's body had been found by a man while he was jogging." He scanned her face again for any emotion.

She didn't reply and her face remained expressionless.

Detective Ryan tried a different route. "Where were you this morning from three to six?"

"I was at my apartment. Sleeping."

"Oh." He raised an eyebrow. "Any witnesses to confirm that?"

"No." Kendra answered, knowing what he was thinking. Her alibi wasn't strong enough to kick her off the suspect list.

"Do you have anything you would like to confess before we continue?" He stared at her, as though he was trying to will her to confess to killing Cutler.

"If I had anything to confess to, I would go see a priest." Kendra stared back at him, her blue eyes daring him to challenge her.

Detective Ryan's eyes narrowed in anger. "This is an interrogation room, not a comedy club."

Detective Ryan took a deep breath as he tried to retain his control. He cleared his throat. "Tell me everything from the point when Mr. Cutler had assaulted you at Uppercuts."

"Didn't you already read Officer Reed's report?" Kendra mocked.

"I want to hear the story from you." He said flatly. "Now, start at the beginning."

* * *

While Kendra was in the interrogation room with Detective Ryan, Carlos was asking Officer Reed about the case. Officer Reed was hesitant at first, but Carlos was very persuasive.

"The ME said that Cutler had been murdered between 4 and 5 this morning. Maybe 3:30. He had been brutally stabbed multiple times. He didn't have any defensive wounds, so either the killer was fast or he knew him or her." Officer Reed said.

Trent was holding his chin in his hand, thinking about the murder. He didn't know if Kendra had an alibi or not, but if she didn't she did have time to commit the murder. Her injuries had been minor, a major headache and a sore foot, so could she have possibly surprised Cutler and kill him so swiftly? Trent had learned to trust his instincts and he knew that while Kendra probably would have been able to kill Cutler, his gut told him that she would never kill anyone.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door to the interrogation room opened, Kendra stepped out ahead of Detective Ryan.

Ryan stood in the doorway "Malloy, your next." He yelled across the room.

* * *

Detective Ryan had learned that Carlos's alibi was very similar to Kendra's, except he had went home about thirty minutes after her because he had been talking to the officers after Kendra's attack. Trent said he had gone straight home after dropping Kendra off at her apartment.

They all knew that Detective Ryan didn't believe any of their alibis. He warned them not to leave town and he released them. They left the station in Carlos' Durango and returned to Uppercuts.

It was about five after three in the afternoon, but they all had ordered a beer and sat, all mulling over the murder. Butch recognized the look on each of their faces and didn't bother them.

Kendra broke the silence. "How much?"

"For what?" Carlos asked, finishing his beer.

"How much is it, to hire you two to find Cutler's killer?"

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guardianM3: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review.


	4. Chapter 4: A Second Murder

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

* * *

Chapter 4: A Second Murder

A young woman with brown hair walked in and headed straight to the bar. "Where have you two been?" I've been worried sick and you didn't even think to call me!" Kim Sutter, the office manager for Thunder Investigations, practically screamed at the two detectives, her hands on her hips.

"You could have asked Butch where we were." Carlos pointed out, taking a sip from his second beer.

"I shouldn't have to ask Butch. You should have called me!" Kim let out an angry and frustrated sigh. "I thought you two had been shot in a drive-by shooting or killed in a car accident or beaten up by some muscle men…"

"Or kidnapped by the circus to be trained as trapeze artists?" Kendra added.

Kim looked at Kendra. Kim hadn't seen her when she had stormed into the bar. "It's my fault," confessed Kendra, trying to get Kim to lay off the two tired men.

Kim shook her head, the two piggy-tail-like-buns mimicking the movement. "And who, are you?" Kim asked, seeing the large bruise on the woman's face.

"I'm Kendra Stone. I'm in a little trouble and I had just hired Carlos and Trent to help me." Kendra smiled politely and held out her hand.

Kim accepted her hand and they shook. "I'm Kim Sutter, the office manager at Thunder Investigations."

"Wait a minute. Where have you been?" Carlos asked Kim. "Trent and I were in the office early this morning but you weren't there."

"I… uh...was doing some research." Kim said, avoiding their eyes.

"Really? Don't you usually do research on the computer in the office?"

"Usually. But I decided to go out into the field. You know. Some 'field' research." She said firmly.

"Kim!" Trent exclaimed. "You know you're not supposed to go out in the field alone."

"It was only the Baxter case. I just went to see where his wife works. Anyway, what trouble are you in?" She asked Kendra, changing the subject.

"I've been accused of murder. Well, more of a suspect really. Actually, Detective Ryan considers Trent and Carlos possible suspects, too."

"We should to go speak to Cutler's buddies." Trent said finishing his beer, before Kim could start in.

"You could try the one named Tony something; he might be willing to talk. He did tell Cutler I've had enough." Kendra suggested.

"Tony Flemming." Carlos filled in.

"I want to go with you." Kendra said as a blue fire came to her eyes.

"No, Kendra. You are going to let the boys handle this." Butch said firmly. "Isn't that why you hired them in the first place?"

"I decided to _officially_ hire them. I knew they were going to work the case anyway and besides, did you really think that I wasn't going to get involved?" Kendra asked.

"You are considered more of a suspect than the boys." Butch pointed out.

"I have to go teach a class." Trent said looking at his watch. "You could join in." He said to Carlos. "It will only be an hour and you need to get some of your frustration out before we go question anyone."

"Yeah. Your right." He replied.

"What do you teach?" Kendra asked, as Carlos and Trent stood up.

"I'm a martial arts instructor at Thunder Karate." Trent replied.

They hadn't noticed that someone had been listening to every word that they had said. The person slipped out before Trent and Carlos, and neither of them noticed.

* * *

"Listen, Tony. You're a friend of Cutler's; you must have known if he had any enemies." Trent said. Carlos and Trent had found the man at his home watching some game show. They could hear the TV blaring in the living room from the little entrance hall.

"That waitress despised him." Tony replied.

"Yeah. But he had to have other enemies, considering he was scumbag." Carlos said, in his rough cop voice.

Tony glared at them but he was a little unnerved by the tone in Carlos' voice. "I don't know if Sam had any other enemies."

Trent handed him a Thunder Investigations card. "Call us if you can think of anyone who had wanted to harm Cutler or anything else that might be important."

Trent and Carlos exited the door and heard it slam behind them. "That was a waste of time," said Carlos.

"Well, we still have two more to speak to."

"Yeah. I bet they will be a big help." Carlos said sarcastically as they got into his Durango and he drove off toward their next interview.

* * *

Kendra was pacing in front of the bar. The country song in the background from some new, young artist reached her ears but she didn't hear the words.

"You're going to wear out my floor, Kendra." Butch warned as he handed a red-haired waitress a pitcher of beer.

"They should be back by now. They would be back right now if I had gone with them." The clock in the bar said it was 8:15 P.M.

"Not true. You would have lost your temper with one of those guys and would have been charged with assault."

"Really? You've only known me for a few days, Butch. How could you know what I would have done?"

"Because I can tell by that look in your eyes. Just like I can tell you that you feel guilty."

"Guilty of what?" Kendra asked, slightly bewildered.

"Of dragging Trent and Carlos into this. You didn't ask them to save you from your attackers. But, knowing those boys, they would have been involved even if you hadn't asked." Before Kendra could reply, Carlos and Trent returned.

"Tony Flemming said that the only enemy he knew about was you, Kendra." Said Trent, as he sat down on a barstool and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the knots and some frustration.

"Brian Locke refused to speak with us and we hadn't been able to find Stuart Allen." Carlos added, while Kendra sighed in frustration.

Butch noticed the exhaustion on all of his younger friends' faces. "You all should get a decent night's rest." Butch said. For once, no one argued with the bartender. .

* * *

The knife shone in the moonlight reflecting in the killer's eyes. The killer stood just outside the little blue house, watching as the man returned to his recliner with a beer. The killer's blood boiled with anger and anticipation. _This pig was getting to get what he deserved, just like the other one_, the killer thought with glee

A sinister and evil smile came to the killer's lips, showing off white gleaming teeth in the moonlight. The killer silently crept closer to the house ready to swing the deadly blade.

* * *

"Looks like 'McStabby' has struck again, Detective. This guy was definitely killed in the same manner as Cutler." The ME said. He had been called in at 7 A.M. when he was halfway through his breakfast.

Detective Ryan frowned and his eyebrows drew together. "What's the time of death?"

"Uh. I would say about 12 to 2 this morning, maybe 3."

Detective Ryan's eyes scanned the living room. There was an open beer next to the recliner where the body was facing a large flat screen TV. His eyes noticed something silver underneath the table that held the TV. He went over to the table and bent down to pick the object up with his pen. The object was a watch that had an inscription.

* * *

guardianM3: I hope you all like this chapter. I hope to get chapter 5 up in the next couple of days. Reviews are always welcome.


	5. Chapter 5: The Watch

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

* * *

guardianM3 Note: Words in italic are thoughts.

* * *

Chapter 5: The Watch

Kendra woke up ten minutes before her alarm clock was set to go off at 8 o'clock. She turned it off so she wouldn't have to hear that annoying buzzing sound blaring into her sleep-deprived brain and got out of bed.

She had only gotten a few hours of sleep because she had been thinking about Cutler's murder. All she had was questions with no answers. _Who had done it? Some vigilante? Someone who had been assaulted by him before? One of his buddies?_

She took a shower, trying to get her mind to take a break from the questions. She got dressed in her bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. The bump on her head was still visible and she scowled at the yellow-purplish bruise. Her foot didn't hurt anymore and she was thankful for that.

Her bare feet slapped on the wooden floor of the little hallway that led to the living room and entered the small kitchen. She measured out the crushed coffee beans and filled the pot of water. As the coffee maker chugged and the aroma of hazelnut filled the air, she made herself a bowl of oatmeal and cut some fresh strawberries to go on top.

She got the newspaper and then sat down at her kitchen table with her food and read the news as she ate. She saw the title "The Slasher Strikes Again" and frowned as she read the article.

* * *

The Malloy family had just sat down to eat their breakfast together when a knock came to the door. Trent rose, motioning to his mother to sit back down, and answered the door.

"Morning, Trent." Carlos greeted, with a grin on his face

"You came here for some of my mom's cooking, didn't you?" Trent asked with his arms crossed over his chest, attempting to look fierce but a grin quivered on his lips.

"What!?" Carlos feigned shock and innocence. "I just came to visit the members of the Malloy household."

"Right. Come on in and get something to eat." He motioned to Carlos to enter the charming and warm house. Before they entered the dining room, a loud knock pounded on the door. Trent answered it and saw Detective Ryan with a uniformed officer next to him.

"Malloy, you need to come with us down to the station." Detective Ryan said sternly. "Stay out of this Sandoval." He said before Carlos could ask why or protest.

"Trent, who is it?" asked Trent's mother, Katie.

"It's alright, Mom." He said reassuringly. "I have to go to the police station." He followed Detective Ryan and the Officer onto the porch and down the steps while Katie watched with a worried frown.

"Carlos, will you go with Trent and make sure he's going to be okay?" asked Katie

"Of course, Mrs. Malloy." Carlos said good-bye and went out the door.

* * *

Trent sat in the same chair, in the same interrogation room from before and even Detective Ryan was standing in the same spot. "So, Malloy, why do you think you are here?" Trent remained silent, knowing that Detective Ryan was going to tell him anyway. "Did you go to visit with a Tony Flemming, yesterday?" Detective Ryan asked.

"Yes. Carlos and I spoke with him yesterday afternoon." Trent replied completely calm.

"Really. That's all you did at Flemming's? Talk?" He scoffed. "He was found murdered this morning by his sister when he didn't answer her calls. He was killed late last night."

"Carlos and I spoke with him at about 4:25 or 4:30 and left about 10 minutes later. I didn't go back there." Trent said firmly.

"Then why did we find this?" Detective Ryan asked, as he set something small and silver on the table that was in an evidence bag.

The object in the evidence bag was Trent's watch that he had gotten from his parents when he had graduated from high school. The inscription on the back was facing up and the message read, "Congrats Trenton. Love Mom and Dad." And below the message was the date he had graduated.

Before Trent could protest or reply, someone knocked on the door and entered the stifling interrogation room. A man in a gray suit with a blue tie walked into the interrogation room with a large black briefcase that he set down onto the table. "I'm Lyle Prescott, Mr. Malloy's attorney. Now, Officer, tell me what you are charging my client with?"

Detective Ryan scowled. "It's _Detective_ Ryan." He coughed. "Your client isn't being charged. At the moment."

"His watch," Detective Ryan indicated to the table with his index finger, "was found at the crime scene. Also, he's admitted that he went to see Tony Flemming yesterday at about 4:30 and left about 10 minutes later." He explained to the gray-haired, fifty-something man with intelligent green eyes.

"Is there any other evidence besides the watch that links Mr. Malloy to the crime? Have you found the murder weapon?" asked Lyle and when Detective Ryan, said no to both questions, he picked up his briefcase. "Then you don't have a case against my client. Let's go Mr. Malloy so we won't take up anymore of the Officer's time. Have a nice day." Detective Ryan's scowl deepened as Trent followed the lawyer out the door.

"Hey, what happened?" Carlos asked when he met up with Trent and Lyle.

Trent introduced the lawyer and his friend as they shook hands and then he shook Prescott's hand. "Thank you."

Lyle smiled at Carlos' questioning look. "Butch sent me to help Mr. Malloy here."

"You owed Butch a favor?" Carlos asked the lawyer.

"No. Now, he owes me one." Replied Lyle then he said goodbye to the two younger men and left.

* * *

As Carlos drove, close to be considered erratically, Trent called home on his cell phone and let his family know that he was all right. Carlos parked his vehicle and they entered Uppercuts.

"Do you have a source in the department?" Carlos asked Butch, as he and Trent sat down at the bar.

Butch didn't reply and poured coffee into two navy blue mugs, and set them down in front of Carlos and Trent.

"Lyle Prescott said you now owe _him_ a favor." Trent said, adding a few drops of cream to his coffee.

Butch nodded. "I mentioned to Kim that you had been taken to the station…"

Before Butch could finish, Kim burst into the bar and sat next to Trent, spitting out questions.

"I'm fine, Kim. No, I haven't been charged with anything." Trent attempted to answer all of her questions.

"Okay, Kim. Calm down, before you spontaneously combust or something." Carlos remarked.

Kim glared at Carlos and then looked back at Trent. Trent told her about his watch being found at the crime scene. "So, somehow the killer got a hold of your watch?"

"Yeah. I had it before my karate class, but I always take it off while I teach. I don't remember putting it back on after that. Carlos kept on bugging me about going to talk with Flemming and the others." Trent said.

"Hey," Carlos said as he held his hands up in defense, "I thought that we both wanted to find Cutler's killer. Now, we have to find out if the person who killed Cutler is the same one who killed Flemming and my bet is it is the same killer."

"Well, doesn't a killer usually want the last kill to be the one that is the most important?" Kim asked. "So, doesn't that mean that the killer had some type of altercation with one or both of the remaining guys? Or maybe the killer is murdering the guy's buddies to make him nervous?"

"Or the killer only wanted to kill Cutler and Flemming, so Brian Locke and Stuart Allen are safe." Even as Trent said it, he knew in his gut that all four men were targets and there were only two men left.

* * *

The killer had blended in with the crowd at Uppercuts and listened to every word that the four friends had said. The killer's eyes narrowed in thought as a dark and devious idea came to mind.

* * *

guardianM3: Yeah, I know, I love cliffhangers. Please review and let me know how I'm doing with dialogue, descriptions, characters, etc. I've decided to add Mystery to the genre list because it has become more of a mystery than I had originally planned/thought or perhaps even realized.


	6. Chapter 6: The Report and the Olive

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

* * *

guardianM3: WARNING! A scene in this chapter is a may be considered a little ghastly and graphic, but I tried to make it appropriate for the rating. If it makes you uneasy, please skip it and go to the next part. Just remember, you have been warned.

* * *

Chapter 6: The Report and the Olive

Kendra had decided to switch her late shift for an earlier one. When she had gone to work the day before, Butch had informed her about Trent's watch being found at a second victim's home and that he had been brought to the police station for questioning. She wasn't about to let Trent be arrested for a crime he didn't commit so she decided to visit with the two remaining men herself and have a little chat with them.

Kendra parked her blue Dodge Stratus on the street and got out of the car. It was about four and she knew that Brian Locke was home because earlier she had called his house from a pay phone pretending to be a telemarketer.

His house needed of a paint job and the lawn looked as though it hadn't had any water in a long time and she decided that with a cactus or two it would really look like a desert. She walked up to door and was about to knock, but noticed the door was open a crack and she pushed open the door with her shoe. "Hello? Anyone here? Brian Locke?" She walked cautiously into the entry hall. "Hello?" Her gut trembled with a strong warning but she chose to ignore it.

She stopped for a moment to take in the rooms around her. To her left was the kitchen, to her right was a closet and before her was the living room and through the living room, there were two doors, presumably one led to a bathroom, and the other door led to a bedroom. The only light that provided visibility was a lamp in the living room casting shadows on the carpeted floor. The drapes had been closed tightly blocking the light from sun.

She crept around the recliner and then the couch and stood before one of the doors. Something had pulled her toward this particular door. Her hand encircled the knob and she turned it pushing the door open.

* * *

It was early in the morning and Carlos was in the Thunder Investigations office, making a phone call. "Hey, Merida. It's Carlos."

"Hello, Carlos. How are you?" Merida Cortez greeted pleasantly. A friend from Carlos' Dallas PD, she works in the records office of the police station.

"I'm fine. Thanks, Merida. I need to ask you a favor."

"Really?" Merida said feigning surprise and then laughed. "Then you owe me a dinner, handsome."

"Wherever you wanna go, Merida." Carlos said flirtatiously and then became serious. "I need to know if there are any cases involving Sam Cutler, Tony Flemming, Stuart Allen, and Brian Locke."

"Oh. Now I see what this is about." Merida's tone became serious knowing that Carlos's friend had been hauled into the station by Detective Ryan the day before. "It will not be a problem. I'll call you back."

"I would really appreciate it Merida, and don't forget, you get to choose the restaurant." He said goodbye and hung up the phone.

* * *

It was about four in the evening and Carlos was still sitting in the office. He was leaning back in his chair when Trent walked in.

"Hey, Carlos. Any word from DPD yet?" Trent asked sitting down in his chair at his desk.

"Nope. Not yet. Knowing Merida, she's checking everything from their birth certificate to the present. What did you find out about Mrs. Baxter?" Carlos asked.

"She is defiantly stealing money from the company. We have to do some surveillance tonight. I got a feeling we are going to find out where the money is going."

Kim walked into the office without knocking, since Trent had left the door open, and stood before the two PIs with a few papers in her hands.

"Okay. Sam Cutler, Stuart Allen, Brian Locke and Tony Flemming were all born in Houston. They all went to the same high school and the same university, both in Houston. Cutler and Flemming own a construction company together, called Cutler and Flemming Construction. Allen owns and works at a couple of gas stations. Locke is a security guard in the mall. I checked the net and the only information I could find was the website for the construction company." She looked up from her notes. "Has Merida called you back yet?" Carlos shook his head.

"Well, Carlos and I have to go do some surveillance. Merida will probably call you before you leave the office for the day. If you could call us with the information as soon as you hear it that would be wonderful Kim." Trent said.

"No problem. I'll hang out at Uppercuts and if you guys get into any trouble just call me, and Butch and I will come running. I'll dig a little deeper on these guys." Kim added and left the room. Trent and Carlos began to get ready for their stakeout tonight.

* * *

Kendra flipped on the switch and the light flickered before it finally illuminated the small bathroom. The smell of blood reached her nose before her eyes had taken in the scene. "Oh my God." Kendra exclaimed at the sight before her.

A man with sandy blond hair was lying on the floor face-up, his eyes were open and lifeless reflecting the horror he had gone through. Blood from the multiple stab wounds in his chest had soaked into his shirt and had dripped onto the floor. There was blood splatter all around the bathroom from the furious stabbing that had taken place.

She knew the smell and sight of death because she had met it before. Since then, she had been able to sense death's lingering presence. She turned away from the horrendous sight before her and ran to the phone to call the police.

* * *

Trent and Carlos were in the Durango following Mrs. Baxter. First, she had gone to a beauty salon and then she met her husband for dinner at an expensive restaurant. While the Baxters were eating, Kim called Trent's cell phone.

"Hey Trent. I have news from Merida." She said excitement in her voice.

"Let's hear it, Kim." Trent had put Kim on speakerphone so Carlos could hear.

"There was a report of a sexual assault at the university in Houston about eight years ago. All of them were juniors at the time and all of them are named as offenders. But, there wasn't enough evidence, so it never went to trial." Kim said with disgust in her voice.

"Who was assaulted?" Carlos asked.

"A freshman from the university, her name is Claire Wesson."

"Alright. Thanks Kim. Can you find out where Claire Wesson is now? Maybe she has decided to get her own justice." Trent said goodbye and hung up.

"Slim chance that the killer is Claire Wesson." Carlos said.

"Yeah. But it's the only lead we have." Trent replied. "Hey, heads up."

Mr. and Mrs. Baxter had finished their dinner and had stepped out into the parking lot. The two PIs watched as Mr. Baxter got into his red mustang and Mrs. Baxter got into her silver Lexus and they went in separate directions. Trent and Carlos followed the Lexus keeping a good distance behind. Mrs. Baxter parked the car outside of the company, went in empty handed but about 20 minutes later she had come out with a briefcase.

"Finally. I hope this leads us to whatever she is up to." Carlos said following a good distance behind the Lexus. Mrs. Baxter led them to a small parking lot in the back of a building. She walked up to the rear entrance and knocked. The door opened just enough for her to get through, but they couldn't see anything from where Carlos had parked the Durango.

"Isn't this that club, The Olive?" Trent asked.

"Yeah. This will be the first time I've ever been inside. Let's go." Carlos grabbed the keys from the ignition, opened the door and stepped onto the pavement as Trent followed suit.

They went around the building and walked in the front door. "Think we fit in?" Trent asked, looking around at the men in the three-piece suits and the women were dressed stylishly. The club was darkly lit and soft music was played through well-placed speakers. Waiters and waitresses wore black dress pants with a white shirt and a bow tie while carrying silver trays or taking orders.

"Yeah. Close enough." Carlos replied. They were both wearing leather jackets and jeans.

Trent spotted Mrs. Baxter sitting with a man in a dark gray suit. There were a couple of bodyguards standing around the table. He elbowed Carlos and indicated Mrs. Baxter's location with his head.

"That's Miguel Fitzgerald." Carlos whistled softly. "He's into money laundering and drug dealing. Think she got into drugs?"

"I don't know, but I think we are about to get into something." Trent replied, as he noticed one of the henchmen was giving them a funny look.

"Hey, I know you." The man pointed his beefy forefinger at Carlos. "You're that cop that arrested my brother."

"Sorry, you have the wrong guy." He held up his hands and shook his head.

"I don't think so. Get 'em." The man growled. There were three guys with the man coming from the front and four coming behind them. "That cop is mine!"

"So much for blending in." Trent remarked, as he moved into a fighting stance.

Carlos punched the man with his left fist as he came at Carlos and then he threw a second punch with his right at another guy.

Trent had done a couple of roundhouse kicks that sent one of the men into a table, and the other had been knocked into a third guy.

Carlos grabbed one guy by his collar, spun him around, and sent him flying into a man who was about to throw a punch at Trent.

Trent kicked a guy in the stomach and then hit him in the jaw, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. He did another roundhouse kick at a guy who had come up behind Trent with a chair. The guy dropped the chair before he hit the wall.

All of the attackers were unconscious except for one who had scurried away before the end of the fight. Carlos was smoothing out his leather jacket with his hands while Trent looked around.

"They're gone." Trent pointed to the empty table.

While Trent and Carlos had fought, Mrs. Baxter and Miguel Fitzgerald had slipped out the back door.

"I'm glad Kim told us to get new phones." Carlos held up his cell phone that had a camera and grinned and Trent just shook his head and smiled.

* * *

guardianM3: Reviews are always welcome! I hope that was enough action for you. There is a Merida Cortez working at the Dallas P.D. in the "Sons of Thunder". I haven't seen the show since it has aired but I've read the transcript of episode one "Moment of Truth" but I wasn't able to get the transcripts for the rest of the episodes. It seems as though she works in records/personnel but she has her own office so not 100 sure. If you know for sure, please just put it in a review and I'll make the necessary corrections. Thank you.


	7. Chapter 7: Beer Bottles

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

* * *

Chapter 7: Beer Bottles

The Forensics team was all over Brian Locke's house, inside and out, dusting for fingerprints, checking for shoe imprints, taking photographs, etc. A couple of cops were speaking with the neighbors to see if they had seen or heard anything. They were doing what they had to do to find the killer.

Detective Ryan was standing just outside the front door with Kendra. "So, Ms. Stone, you just happened to find Locke's body?"

"Yes." Kendra replied. "What you're not going to take me to the station?" She said with disdain.

"Depends what you have to say. Why were you at Locke's home?" Detective Ryan asked, suspicion reflecting in his eyes.

"I came to speak with him." Kendra answered simply.

"About what?"

Kendra sighed. "I wanted to ask him if he knew of anyone who wanted to kill Cutler and Flemming. But I kinda didn't get the chance to ask that question. Are we done now?"

Detective Ryan took in a sharp breath and frowned. "Fine. But…"

"…don't leave town. Yeah, yeah. I know." Kendra interrupted, turned and headed to her car. She could feel his eyes trying to burn a hole through her which caused a smile to tug at the corners of her lips as she got into her car and drove off.

Detective Ryan muttered under his breath. "Hey, Detective. I think we have something here." Ryan turned to look at the man with the word FORENSICS imprinted on his jacket. "What do you got Perkins?"

"Well. We found two beer bottles in the sink." Perkins said. Ryan just blinked. "There are two different sets of fingerprints." Perkins clarified.

Ryan frowned and the features of his face narrowed in thought. "Good. Send those fingerprints through the system. Also, have the ME do a tox screen. I want a rush on all of this." Ryan ordered. Perkins nodded his head and went back inside the house. Ryan sighed and looked at the few stars that were tiny dots on the black sky.

* * *

"Good morning, Mr. Baxter." Kim said pleasantly to the dark haired man in his mid-forties. "I'll let them know you are here." Kim stood up from her desk and went to the closed door of the two PIs office. She knocked twice and when she heard Trent say, "Come in," she opened the door just enough to allow her head in.

"Mr. Baxter is here." Kim told the two men.

"Okay. Thanks Kim. Send him in." Trent said.

Kim removed her head from the office and stepped back. "Okay Mr. Baxter. They are ready for you." She held the door open for Mr. Baxter and as he entered the office and sat in a chair, she shut the door and returned to her desk.

"Good morning, gentlemen. What did you find out about Lynn?" Mr. Baxter asked as he clasped his hands together almost as though he was going to pray.

"Well, Mr. Baxter. We followed your wife last night. She went to the club, The Olive and she spoke with this man." Carlos said as showed him the picture he had taken of Mrs. Baxter and Miguel Fitzgerald.

"I have never seen that man before. Who is he?" Mr. Baxter asked with a mixture of jealously, concern and curiosity.

"His name is Miguel Fitzgerald." Trent explained as he gave Carlos a questioning look, and Carlos nodded his head. "He's into money laundering and drugs."

Mr. Baxter's face went from shock to anger. "My wife would never be involved with anything like that."

"Mr. Baxter, we witnessed your wife going into the company and coming out with a briefcase. Then, we followed her to the club, where she met with that man." Trent said and pointed to the picture, the briefcase could be seen between Mrs. Baxter and Fitzgerald.

Mr. Baxter sighed and put his head in his hands in defeat. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well, if money is being stolen for drugs or if money is being laundered through the company, then there will be discrepancies in the books." Trent said.

"You probably should have an accountant you trust to look at them." Carlos suggested. "And we will help with whatever if discovered."

Mr. Baxter nodded his head. "Thank you for…everything. I have to go to a meeting." He stood up and the two PIs rose to shake his hand. "Goodbye."

"I feel sorry for Baxter." Carlos said after the man had left.

"Yeah." Trent agreed.

Kim came into their office and sat down. "Ok. I found out some interesting information about Claire Wesson."

"What did you find out?" Carlos asked.

"She dropped out of school three months after the assault. Then about a month after the case was dismissed, she just disappeared." Kim cleared her throat and continued. "There are no credit cards in her name or property or a car or even a tax return. She just vanished without a trace."

"Were there any missing reports filed? Anything in the newspaper about her disappearance?" Carlos asked.

"Nope." Kim answered with a shake of her head.

"What about family? Did you try and get a hold of them?" Trent asked rubbing his chin in thought.

"Her mother passed away a few years ago and her father left when she was young." Kim shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"So, Claire Wesson could be the killer or she could be dead." Carlos said.

"How did the killer get your watch?" Kim asked, the question had been in her mind for a while, but had forgotten to bring the subject up with the two PIs.

"Okay. I believe the killer had to have gotten my watch after my karate class while everyone was leaving." Trent said.

"So, it could be someone who is taking your class." Carlos reasoned. "I don't think the killer would have broken into the dojo just to steal your watch and place it at the scene of the crime but did the killer take it because he had the opportunity or was it planned? Also, the killer must have known about the fight or that we had seen Flemming, probably both to have Ryan see us as suspects."

"We probably should check the locks at the dojo and see if there was any forced entry. Just in case." Trent said. "See what else you can get on Claire Wesson. Can you get a picture of her?"

"Yeah. I'll get on it." Kim said and then returned to her desk. She bit the corner of her lip in thought as she went to work to find out more about Claire Wesson. _Kendra knew that Trent and Carlos were going to see Flemming._ _Maybe Kendra is Claire Wesson and she is trying to set Trent up to take the fall._ She decided to find out more about Kendra Stone.

* * *

Kendra walked in the door, unnoticed by Butch who was busy filling mugs of beer, and went to find an empty seat. She was able to grab one all the way in the back. She sighed as she sat down.

"Hey, you feeling alright Kendra?" asked the brown-haired waitress that came the table.

"Yeah. I'm fine Katelyn." Kendra forced a smile on her lips.

"Ok. Oh. Thanks for taking that shift for me." Katelyn smiled.

"Uh. Actually I didn't get to do that shift. I think Phoebe took it." Kendra explained.

"Oh. Well, I'll have to thank her then." Katelyn said.

"Yeah. I'll have a beer and some chicken wings. Busy this afternoon." Kendra commented.

"Yeah. Well it is Friday." Katelyn replied. "I'll be right back with your beer."

"Thanks." Kendra bit the bottom of her lip in thought. _Cutler, Flemming and Locke are all dead. I wonder who Detective Ryan thinks is the murderer? _Kendra's thoughts were interrupted when Katelyn brought her beer. Kendra nodded her head in thanks as Katelyn gave her a smile and left. Kendra nursed her beer as she formed a time line in her head.

* * *

The Dallas PD was colder than a frothy beer due to the air conditioning system that worked a little too well. The desks were arranged in rows and the higher rank you were, the closer you were to the windows.

"Detective, I have a hit on the fingerprints." Perkins said excitedly as he came to stand before Ryan's desk.

"Well, spit it out, Perkins. I don't have all night."

"Well, on one of the bottles, the fingerprints belong to Brian Locke. On the second bottle, the fingerprints belong to Carlos Sandoval."

* * *

Kim couldn't stop herself as she crept around Butch's desk. It was Friday night, so Butch had his hands full and hadn't seen her as she slipped into his office.

_Kendra had reason to kill those men and had the opportunity to try and frame Trent, _Kim thought, trying to remind her guilty conscience why she was invading Butch's office. She walked up to the file cabinet keeping alert to any indications that Butch was going to come into the office. She turned on her pen light and slowly and soundlessly opened the drawer. Her fingers flipped the through the folders until she got to the one that read, 'Stone, Kendra' and pulled it out.

Her head perked up and she shut off the light as she heard footsteps just outside the office door. Breathing a sigh of relief after the footsteps faded away, she turned on her light and looked at the file. She wrote down the information she wanted, and returned the file to the cabinet. She quietly closed the drawer, shut off her light and left the office without Butch seeing her.

* * *

guardianM3: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please keep reviewing and reading. Does anyone know if Trent has a motorcycle? I swear I saw him riding one in an episode. If you know, please put it in a review. I want to use that information sometime.


	8. Chapter 8: Suspicions

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

* * *

Chapter 8: Suspicions

That Saturday morning, Carlos and Trent had thoroughly checked out the dojo for any indications of breaking and entering, but had found nothing. They went to the office and sat at their respective desks, each lost in their own thoughts as they rifled through papers or looked at the files on their computers.

Kim knocked on the door to their office, but opened it before either of them could say a word. "Detective Ryan's here, with a couple of officers." There was worry in her voice.

Trent and Carlos looked at each other and then stood up, as Detective Ryan, with the two officers behind him, came into the office.

"We have a warrant to search the premises." Detective Ryan stated and handed the paper to Trent as Carlos stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"It's legit, Carlos." Trent said softly as he handed the paper back to Ryan.

"Fine." Carlos said irritably as he stepped outside into the reception area and Trent followed him.

"What's going on?" Kim asked as she nervously walked around the room.

"Ryan's got a warrant." Trent answered.

It was about twenty minutes before Ryan and the two officers came out carrying evidence bags. "Well, you wouldn't believe what we found in Sandoval's desk." Ryan said as he had one of the officers hold up a bag with a bloody knife. Then he held up the other bag that had a small silver badge. A badge for a mall security guard and it had Brian Locke's name on it.

"I did not put those in my desk." Carlos said firmly and with anger.

"No? Well, we found your fingerprints on a beer bottle at Locke's house and in the bottle he had drank from, we found traces of a drug that had knocked him out cold. According to the tox screen and what the ME told us." Detective Ryan explained.

"What's my motive, Ryan? Why would he want to drink from a bottle I gave him?" Carlos asked.

Ryan ignored him. "Turn around Sandoval. Hands behind your back."

Carlos hands formed into fists but before Carlos could take a shot at Ryan's smug face, Trent laid a comforting but firm hand on Carlos' shoulder. Carlos sighed and turned around, placing his hands behind his back.

"You can't really believe that Carlos murdered that man!" Kim practically yelled at Ryan.

"It looks that way and it will only be a matter of time before we find the evidence that links him to the other two murders." Ryan said.

Trent stood next to Kim and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "We'll do all we can to help you Carlos."

"You are under arrest for the murder of Brian Locke," Ryan said as he placed the handcuffs on Carlos' wrists. He had one of the officers, one he called Cliff to search Carlos for a weapon but he had already removed his gun and it was stored in a safe in the office. As Ryan led him out of the office, with the two officers assisting, he read him his rights.

Kim was restless as she returned to her pacing. She didn't know how Trent could be so calm when his best friend had just been arrested for murder. She was mumbling under her breath about Ryan and his incompetence.

Trent leaned against Kim's desk, his eyes staring beyond her and the office. He was picturing in his mind what his friend was going through, but figured it was probably a lot worse. He hoped not as he shook his head to clear out the thoughts that had seeped into his mind and focused on the pacing Kim. "He'll be alright, Kim." He said reassuringly.

"Right." She said with a hint of sarcasm. She stopped her pacing and looked directly into his eyes. "I think Kendra planted your watch at the other murder and framed Carlos for this one."

Before he could protest, Kim continued. "She has had many jobs and has been moving around a lot for the past six, seven years. Doesn't that seem odd to you? Maybe she has done this sort of thing before, killed people or God knows what."

"Kim…." Trent started to say before Kim interrupted him again.

"Well, the timeline fits. She could have been Claire Wesson and then she changed her name to Kendra Stone." Kim pointed out as she went to her desk and showed a picture to Trent. "It could be Kendra. She could have gotten some cosmetic surgery."

Trent studied at the picture. A woman with blond hair and blue eyes smiled at the camera with perfect teeth. The oval face and the nose were similar to Kendra's, but the eyes in the picture didn't have that fire that he had seen when he had first met her. "I don't think Kendra did it. No, I know she didn't kill those men. How did she get my watch? She was in the bar with Butch the entire time." Trent said.

"I…uh…maybe she has an accomplice." Even as she said those words, it didn't seem right.

"People, who kill like this, don't have accomplices. Not usually but it's possible. I think there is only one person. One person who killed those three men, took my watch, and planted it at Flemming's house. One person who took that beer bottle with Carlos' fingerprints and planted it at Locke's house and that person planted that knife and the badge in Carlos's desk."

"It has to be Claire Wesson. She is the only one who would despise all four of those men." Kim stated.

"Yeah and there is only one left." Trent said gravely.

* * *

Kendra had heard Kim's allegations against her. She was furious when she had descended the stairs and had gotten into her car. She didn't know if she wanted to punch Kim in the face or shake her and tell her that she didn't kill those men. _How could she believe I could do something so heinous?_ Kendra thought as she pulled her car out of its parking spot.

Kendra had seen Detective Ryan with two uniformed officers bring a handcuffed Carlos out of Thunder Investigations and then, watched as they had put him into the back of a cruiser. She had been across the street and was certain they hadn't seen her. As they drove away she had gone up the stairs to offer her help to Trent and Kim but before her hand even reached for the doorknob, she had heard what Kim had said about her being the killer and framing Carlos. She had heard those allegations because someone had left the door open a crack.

Kendra hissed underneath her breath. She was angry, disappointed and frustrated that Trent and Kim could believe that she was the killer but mostly she was angry. Angry with the killer for murdering those men and with those men for being jerks. Angry with Kim and Trent even considering that, she was the killer and finally, she was angry with herself for not protecting Carlos and Trent, especially Carlos who was now in a jail cell framed for three murders he hadn't committed.

Kendra continued to drive automatically and had not noticed that she had driven outside of the city. Thoughts and emotions swirled within her as images ran through her mind as she drove. Of the cops putting Carlos in the cruiser. Of Brian Locke's body. Of Trent's blue eyes that had stared so profoundly into her own.

A frown came to her lips as she realized that she had driven outside the city. She saw a small turnaround area and turned her car around. She headed back to the city, determined to prove Carlos' innocence.

* * *

Carlos paced in his cell. He had been brought through booking and had been placed in a cell by himself. It had felt strange being the one who was arrested instead of the one who did the arresting. When he had been a cop anyway. Heck even as a PI he chased bad guys and helped bring them in.

Carlos tried to focus on the case but he was angry. He stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the floor so he wouldn't pound the wall in frustration. He took a deep breath.

Someone had set him up. That someone had gained access to the office. But how? Whoever is the last to leave the office makes sure the door is locked. The only way to access, the office was the door or the windows. But the office was on the second story. Wait. There is one more access to the office. Another door. From Uppercuts.

* * *

Detective Ryan sat at his desk typing up his report on the computer that sat on his desk. He had solved Brian Locke's murder, now all he had to do was prove that Carlos had killed the other two. _He probably had taken Malloy's watch and left it at Flemming's to throw the cops off of him_. Ryan thought as he punched the keys on the old, white keyboard. But something that Carlos had said nagged at him. _Why would Brian Locke drink a beer with Sandoval_? He thought as a frown started to form on his face. His thought was interrupted when an officer came to his desk.

"Detective Ryan, should we pull our men off of Allen?" the young cop asked, as he shuffled his feet.

Ryan looked up at the cop. "Yeah. Call them in." Ryan ordered and then returned to his report.

* * *

guardianM3: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I do not remember/know if there is a door from Uppercuts to the upstairs, but it is being used in this story anyway. Please keep reading and reviewing!


	9. Chapter 9: The Last Patron

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

* * *

Chapter 9: The Last Patron

Kendra was parked on a paved driveway that was framed with flowers on both sides. The house before her was white with delicate blue trim. The house and the little yard around it had once been meticulously maintained. At least the house had recently been white and blue, but now, the house was a blackened shell due to a raging fire. Broken windows had been covered with sheets of plywood. The roof had caved in shattering any hope of the house being structurally sound. Not to mention the water damage from the fire hoses the firefighters had used and the flowers surrounding the driveway had been trampled mixing with the once green lawn that now had boot and hose imprints.

She was parked a couple of houses down from the little yellow, two-story house of Stuart Allen. She wanted to stakeout his house a little before banging on the door and ordering Allen to tell her who had killed his friends.

She pictured Carlos and Trent on a stakeout and saw as they told jokes or made up some sort of game to pass the time, but remaining alert to whatever they were on the lookout for. The image brought a shimmer of a grin to her lips, which quickly became somber.

She couldn't help but picture Carlos in a windowless four-by-four cell, instead of the normal size for a more dramatic effect. In her mind, it wasn't iron bars that Carlos would grasp in frustration and anger, but a steel door that would leave his hands bloody and bruised as he banged on it. The guards wouldn't be able to hear a sound coming from within because the door would be thick enough to block any sound and the cell would be so cold frost would adhere to the concrete walls. Mice and rats would be running across his feet and he would have to sleep on a dirty sheet that had been carelessly sewn together to form a type of mattress and it would be filled with itchy hay. She knew her imagination was playing with her because of the guilty feeling that had formed in her stomach.

She turned her mind and her head to the yellow house and its occupant. Allen was the last of the men who had attacked her. And possibly the last patron whom the killer was going to brutally stab to death.

The memory of Brian Locke's blood drenched body flashed through her mind. She shook her head to erase the memory like an Etch-A-Sketch. She sighed loudly and seemed to echo right back at her, as though the little car was sighing with her. She gave her car an affectionate pat on the dash before she noticed someone pull in next to her. The car was a blue Stingray convertible.

Kendra almost wanted to bang her head on the steering wheel, but she got out of the car. Trent mimicked the movement. They stood in front of their cars, facing each other, as though they were about to duel.

"What are you doing here?" Kendra was the first to draw her metaphorical weapon of words.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. But I'm fairly certain I know why you are here and what you were going to say." He answered.

"Really?" Kendra said sarcastically. "You think I'm here to kill Stuart Allen. You know, finish knocking off all four of the rowdy patrons." Blue fire shone in her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Trent asked

"I heard what Kim had said. She thinks I'm the killer." Kendra answered sharply.

"I guess you didn't hear what I had to say." Trent remarked. "I know you didn't kill those men. You didn't steal my watch from Thunder Karate because you were in the bar with Butch that entire time."

"Well thanks for the support," Kendra replied, slightly embarrassed and mostly ashamed of her accusations that implied he didn't trust her. _Why should he? He's only known me for a less than a week_. Kendra thought.

"Someone planted a bloody knife and Locke's mall security badge in Carlos' desk." Trent said.

Kendra nodded her head. "I saw that detective and a couple of officers take him away in a cruiser. I figured the killer had planted some sort of evidence to frame him."

"Do you know a Claire Wesson?" Trent asked her.

She shook her head. "No." She answered, but the sound of a question resonated within her voice.

"She filed a sexual assault against Sam Cutler, Tony Flemming, Brian Locke and Stuart Allen about seven, eight years ago when they all were in college in Houston. There wasn't enough evidence so the case was dropped."

"You think this Claire Wesson is the killer? She didn't get justice then, so she has decided to get it now." Kendra surmised. Then she shook her head. "But, how could she have planted your watch? Or planted the knife and the badge in Carlos' desk? Unless…"

"She's been with us all along. Someone who blends in. Someone we probably see every day. Someone who is a student at Thunder Karate." He closed his eyes for a moment, going over in his mind all of his students. Then, he opened his eyes. "Kim showed me and Carlos a picture of Claire Wesson, but I didn't recognize her."

"She probably dyed her hair. Cut it or grew it out. Heck, maybe even some cosmetic surgery." Kendra guessed. Trent nodded his head in agreement.

"So, she has probably been planning this for a long time." Kendra stated.

"Or she found out about them attacking you and that Carlos and I had helped you. It may have been more of an opportunity." Trent said.

"Either way, she gets her own justice that she didn't receive almost a decade ago." She said.

Trent didn't say anything and began to walk. Kendra fell into step with him as they headed toward the yellow house.

Trent loudly rapped his knuckles on the door. The door opened as far as the chain lock would allow and they could see a partial view of a face. Brown eyes scanned them and by the angry look in his eyes, he remembered them. "What do you want?"

"We want to ask you some questions, please Mr. Allen." Trent answered.

"Go to hell." He retorted, he was about to slam the door in their faces when Kendra placed her foot in the opening and held the door firmly with one hand. "That was rather rude. Trent asked you very politely. I, on the other hand, wouldn't have. Now, are you going to invite us in or do I have to break down the door?"

Allen hesitated for a few moments then he put pressure on her foot and then closed the door once the obstruction had been removed. Kendra had removed her hand before her fingers would be bruised or broken. Kendra shook her injured foot and muttered underneath her breath. She was about to retaliate against the door and then the one behind the door, but Trent grabbed her shoulder. He knew she understood and he released his grip. He didn't have to say a word as they returned to standing before the once white and blue house.

"That was…pleasant." Kendra said sitting on the hood of her car, with her arms crossed.

"He needs to be protected." Trent said.

Kendra raised an eyebrow in question. "There are no cops staking out his place. His police protection has been removed." Trent stated.

"Great, so we get to watch him." Kendra would have laughed if a killer wasn't in the mix.

"I never said 'we'." Trent said.

A smile appeared at the corner of her lips. "If you think I'm going to leave, Thunder Boy, you're wrong. I'm involved in this too. It's my fault that Carlos is in jail." She held up her hand when he was about to protest and continued. "The killer had taken advantage of the fact that you and Carlos had helped me. Therefore, I am at least partly to blame. I came here to find the killer and prove to that dim-witted and arrogant detective that Carlos is innocent."

"All right, but I think it should look as though we decided to leave." He had seen a curtain move in the yellow house and he knew that Allen was waiting for them to leave.

"Okay. I know where we can park." Kendra said as she stood up and headed to the driver side door of her car. Trent got into his car and followed Kendra, even though he knew where she was going to park. There was a little gas station about a quarter of a mile from the house and they parked their cars. Then, they doubled back, keeping to the shadows and hid near the burnt house.

They remained silent and watched. And listened. Then, they heard it. The sound of glass shattering. They knew the sound had come from the little yellow house and without any hesitation or a word to each other; they took off running to save two men. One man that had assaulted a woman about eight years ago and a friend who was in prison for horrible crimes he hadn't committed.

* * *

guardianM3: I know, I know another cliffhanger. Sorry, I know it can annoy some readers but I love 'em. I hope to get chapter 10 up in a few days, but that depends whether I'll have writer's block or not. Please review and keep on reading.


	10. Chapter 10: The Killer

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

* * *

WARNING: This chapter mentions a horrendous crime. There won't be too many details as you're reading, but if it bothers you please stop reading. You have been warned.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Killer

Trent and Kendra reached the back of house and they walked cautiously to the back door that had been left open. Trent went in first with Kendra right behind him. They stepped around and over the pile of broken glass that had come from a pane in the door. They heard a man yelling and then a thud from upstairs. Without glancing at each other, they ran up the stairs, Trent in the lead. They went to the first room, which was a bedroom, and stared at the killer from their position in the doorway.

"Katelyn?" Kendra said with surprise. The brown-haired woman, who worked at Uppercuts and had taken classes from Thunder Karate, turned her head to look at Kendra. The bloody knife in Katelyn's hand caught Kendra's eye.

"Hello, Kendra." Then her gaze lingered on Trent. "Trent. It's good to see you." A groan came from Allen who was lying on the floor with blood on his face and holding his stomach blood dripping around his fingers from a stab wound. Katelyn gave him a swift kick to his chest and the sound of ribs breaking filled the room. Before Trent or Kendra could move, Katelyn pulled a gun.

"Nuh-uh. I wouldn't if I were you. I know how to use this." She said as she waved the gun motioning that they come into the room.

"You're Claire Wesson, aren't you?" Trent asked, but he already knew the answer as he walked into the room with his hands in the air. He was standing so he was blocking a majority of Kendra's body.

"I was wondering when the _detectives_ were going to figure it out. Yes, I used to be Claire Wesson. Weak." She kicked Allen in the stomach and he groaned. "Powerless." She kicked him again. "Doe-eyed and stupid."

"You're a coward now." Kendra remarked.

Katelyn ignored the remark. "They were going to rape you too."

"At least I didn't let them turn me into a killer." Kendra said.

"You don't know how it feels. What being raped does to you. Physically, psychologically and emotionally. YOU DON'T KNOW!" Katelyn screamed.

"No I don't know. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but killing those who had done that to you, isn't the answer." Kendra said softly.

Katelyn scoffed. "I don't want your pity."

"How did you do it? All the murders and planting the evidence against Trent and Carlos." Kendra asked.

"Well, since your going to be dead anyway, sure, I'll tell you. Getting Trent's watch was easy. He always takes it off before he teaches the class. I noticed he was distracted that day and one of the other students were busy asking him a bunch of questions, so I took it. Now, Carlos." She smiled wickedly, remembering. "Ah. That was a challenge. I had to do it when they were not in the office and their secretary wasn't standing guard. I snuck up those stairs that lead from the bar into their office. Butch keeps it locked but I jimmied the lock. I did it when I knew everyone would be too busy to notice or come near those stairs."

"Now that you two are here. I can place the blame on one or both of you. Maybe you two got together and decided to get revenge."

"Uh…I think that the cops are going to believe us over you. Seeing as you are crazy." Kendra said.

Katelyn's eyes flashed and she pointed the gun at Kendra. "Not to worry. Both of you will be dead."

"Oh. But it's going to be difficult. And how are the cops going to know we killed those four men? And why would we be dead?" Kendra asked.

Katelyn smiled evilly and ignored Kendra's question. "If I were you, I would say good-bye to Trent and…" Before she could continue, a hand had wrapped around her ankle and pulled roughly, causing Katelyn to stumble. Trent moved quickly and knocked the gun from her hand. Katelyn brought the knife up swung it down, it grazed Trent's arm, causing a thin line of blood to appear.

Kendra grabbed the gun that had skittered across the floor. She removed the bullets and threw the gun in one direction and the bullets in another, the gun and bullets clattered on the floor as the objects landed.

Trent was able to grab the knife, but got kicked in the stomach. As they fought, Trent brought the enraged woman away from Allen. .

Kendra took the hint and kneeled before Allen, checking his wounds and grabbed a blanket from the bed, applying pressure to the stab wound. "You deserved this beating, not the stab wound." She paused. "Maybe." He coughed up blood and glared at her.

Trent tripped Katelyn causing her to fall and he grabbed her arms and held them behind her back. Trent had Katelyn subdued while Kendra ripped up the sheets from the bed to tie Katelyn's hands and feet together.

"Call 911." Trent said.

"All right. I'll be right back." She said as she ran out of the room and down the stairs to the living room where she had seen a phone earlier. She dialed 911 and told the dispatcher everything. Kendra went back upstairs and monitored Allen while Trent kept an eye on Katelyn.

Fifteen minutes later, two EMTs had Allen in an ambulance and were on the way to the hospital. Two officers were questioning Trent and Kendra, while two others took Katelyn into custody.

"You two are going to have to come to the station with us," said the shorter, dark- haired officer.

"Great," mumbled Kendra, sarcastically.

"What did you say, miss?" The other officer, with wheat colored hair and gold eyes asked.

Kendra smiled. "I said 'we're ready.' "

The officer looked skeptically at Kendra. "Let's go." Kendra and Trent followed the officers and headed to the police station in their own cars.

* * *

Trent and Kendra relayed the story that Katelyn Smith was really Claire Wesson and how the four men had raped her in college. Then, Detective Ryan was called in, and wasn't very happy since it was his day off.

"So, let me get this straight, this Katelyn Smith a.k.a. Claire Wesson is the one who killed those men, tried to kill the last one, and framed Sandoval?" Ryan said in disbelief with a hint of annoyance that he always had when he was around Trent or Carlos. Or perhaps, he was just annoyed all the time.

"Uh. Yeah. She's pretty sneaky." Kendra replied

"All right. Get their statements. Get that paperwork started. And, get Sandoval out of that jail cell. It's going to be a few hours." Ryan said.

Kendra left Trent to bring Carlos home so she could fill in Butch and Kim about what had happened. Trent waited patiently as the officers went to get the paperwork for Carlos' release while Kendra drove quickly to the bar where she knew Kim and Butch would be, even though it had gotten late. Both of them had smiles on their faces.

* * *

guardianM3: I hope you all liked this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11: Epilogue

Disclaimer: "Sons of Thunder" and its' characters are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fan fiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

* * *

Chapter 11: Epilogue

Carlos was released about two hours after Kendra had left. He went to the desk where he was to sign his release and grab his stuff. "Hey, Small," Carlos greeted the twenty-two year old officer who sat behind the desk.

"Hey Sandoval, I'm glad they caught the real guy. I mean, girl." Small grinned. Carlos nodded.

Detective Ryan came up to the counter. "Sandoval, sorry about the...misunderstanding." He mumbled.

Small put a bag of items on the counter and gave Carlos the forms he had to sign. "Yeah. Whatever, Ryan." Carlos replied after he signed his name and grabbed his bag of items that had been taken when he had been arrested. Then he followed a waiting Trent out the door.

"Hey buddy." Trent said, leaning against his car as Carlos breathed deeply taking in the cool, night air.

"Hey." Carlos replied.

"You alright?" Trent asked.

"Yeah. You?" Carlos punched Trent on the shoulder.

"Yeah." Trent clapped Carlos on his shoulder. "Hop in. Oh yeah, Kim said that Mr. Baxter wants to speak with us tomorrow morning."

"I just got out of prison and I have to go back to work right off?" Carlos groaned half-heartedly.

Trent grinned. "Not right off, tomorrow morning, just before lunch. At lunch, I'll buy you a beer. Kendra said she'll buy you lunch and she promised to bake some homemade chocolate chip cookies."

Carlos grinned. "Let's go. The sooner I go to sleep the sooner I'll be chowing down on those cookies. And I'll be glad to sleep in a bed that doesn't squeak like a mouse." Trent laughed as they both got into the car.

* * *

he next morning, Mr. Baxter arrived at Thunder Investigations. Kim led him into the inner office, just like before. Mr. Baxter sat down in the visitors chair and his hands were in the same position as last time. Carlos stood before his desk and Trent sat in his chair.

"You both were right. My accountant checked over the books, there is over twenty thousand dollars missing and Mr. Brown said that there were other discrepancies going back about five years." Mr. Baxter said, with sadness in his voice and eyes.

"What are you going to do?" Carlos asked. Both he and Trent felt sorry for the kind man.

Mr. Baxter sighed and rubbed his face with his hands in an almost exasperated way. "I'm going to speak with my wife first and then I'm going to go to the police about that…man."

Trent nodded his head slowly. "I'm glad we could help, Mr. Baxter. I wish we hadn't found out what Mrs. Baxter was doing."

Mr. Baxter placed his hands on his knees and looked at Trent with a light in his eyes. "No. It is a good thing that you discovered what Lynn has been doing. She has stolen money from the company and has lied to me." He nodded his head, agreeing with what he had said. "It's time for this to come into the light. Thank you, boys. For doing this for me. I'll leave my check with the young lady." He stood up and shook their hands. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me. And if I know of anyone who needs a private investigator, I will tell them to come to you two."

"Thank you, sir. Have a nice day." Trent said. Mr. Baxter left the office, his back straighter and his head held higher than before.

"Ready for lunch?" Trent asked.

"Yeah. Let's go. I'm starving." Carlos replied.

* * *

Trent and Carlos went to the bar where they were greeted warmly by Kim, Butch and Kendra. Butch placed a beer in front of Carlos and Kendra held up a plate of cookies with a grin. "Want one?"

Carlos gave her his most dashing grin and grabbed three. "Thanks, Kendra. Now, we get to test-taste. We have to find out if you can bake or not. Cookies, anyway. I don't think we can trust you with baking brownies or a cake."

Kendra glared at him, but the grin on her face remained. "You can have some too, you guys." Kendra indicated to Butch, Trent and Kim. They each grabbed three which left one cookie on the plate.

"I can't believe Katelyn killed those men." Butch said sadly and shaking his head in disbelief after he had eaten two of his three cookies.

"She was _sooo_ nice," said Kim. She nibbled on a cookie.

"I can't believe I didn't see it." Butch said.

"Don't beat yourself Butch, there was no way you could have known that Katelyn was a killer. She was probably fine until the four of them showed up here in Dallas." Kendra said, reaching over the bar and patting him on the shoulder and gave him a smile.

"Yeah. If she had only gotten some help, she wouldn't have turned into a killer." Carlos said, taking a sip of his beer.

"Maybe." Trent said.

"How did she know that Kendra had been attacked by those men? I mean, wasn't Sam Cutler killed only a few hours later?" Kim asked.

"Katelyn lives right near that alley where Kendra was attacked. She was interviewed by a couple of officers and probably found out that they had gotten off, again." Carlos explained.

"Then, she went and killed Sam Cutler. She took him down using martial arts." Kendra looked at Trent apologetically. "Then, she killed Brian Locke, leaving Trent's watch behind to draw Detective Ryan's attention to him. Then she showed up at Tony Flemming's door, with two beers in hand. She had gotten plastic surgery and had dyed her hair, so he hadn't recognized her as Claire Wesson, but knew her as Katelyn Smith, a waitress at the bar. Finally, she went for Stuart Allen, the man she hated the most because he instigated the rape."

"They deserved to be thrown in jail. Not murdered." Kim said.

"True. But they got away with raping Claire Wesson and she killed them for her own sense of justice. It wasn't right, but because what they had done to her, she couldn't see that it was wrong." Butch said.

They nodded their heads in agreement at Butch's words. They were silent for a while, each in their own thoughts.

"Trent said you were going to buy me lunch, Kendra." Carlos said, interrupting the silence.

"I'm buying you lunch?" Kendra asked with mock bewilderment.

"Yeah. Thanks, I appreciate it. I would like buffalo chicken, another beer," he raised the half-empty bottle he had in his hand, "some fries with chili on top…" Carlos listed off his lunch menu with a large grin on his face.

Trent and Butch laughed. Kim giggled and Kendra had her eyebrows raised quizzically and then joined in with their laughter.

* * *

guardianM3: In the first episode of "Sons of Thunder" titled "Moment of Truth" a similar dialogue happened at the end. This ending dialogue is in honor of that. I hope you all enjoyed this volume of the Kendra Stone stories. Volume 2 should be up fairly soon. It will be titled "Kendra Stone: Missing: Volume 2." Or something like that. Reviews are welcome and are very helpful!


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